Hovering
by aspenlea
Summary: ONESHOT - Uchiha do NOT hover. previously published under harualea - apologies for any confusion


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Uchiha don't _hover_. He couldn't believe she'd told him he was hovering.

Because he wasn't.

He was just standing kind of close, in an I'm-totally-ready pose – legs braced, arms wide. Every once in awhile, he walked out of the hospital room only to turn around and walk right back in. Sometimes, he'd grab a rag and pat her face with it. She was trying really hard not to bark at him, because, really, his actions were quite endearing.

Sasuke Uchiha, who purposefully walked in front of her because he knew it annoyed her, whose best attempt at conversation was usually nothing more than a grunt, who was the most rigid, annoying _asshole_ that she'd ever been teamed up with, was totally out of his element. He was trying really hard to be his usual stoic, I-don't-really-care self, but, come on. She was in labor, and he was freaking the hell out.

After a few hours of contractions, Naruto and Kakashi joined them. Sasuke said nothing, simply walked to the door, then back to her bedside. Then he left the room.

Naruto down at Sakura. "What the hell?"

She grinned. "Give it a minute."

Sure enough, the door opened and Sasuke walked back in, not quite able to hide his frazzled expression. Kakashi chuckled.

"What the hell are you doing, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, eying his best friend quizzically.

"Hn." He reached for the rag, and was about to pat her face with it when she grabbed his wrist. She was about to tell him to leave her the hell alone for a few minutes when a particularly strong contraction seized her. Her grip on his wrist tightened painfully; he pulled her hand away and entwined his fingers with hers. His dark gaze held her bright one as they both counted through the contraction. When it was over, Sakura lay back on the bed, breathing hard, and Sasuke pushed her sweat-dampened hair out of her face. It seemed as though they had forgotten that they had company (and that Sakura was about to banish him); they just continued to stare at each other, holding hands.

Naruto and Kakashi stared wide-eyed at the couple. That... that was the _cutest_ damn thing they'd ever seen! Usually, it seemed as though Sasuke was content to ignore Sakura's very existence (but only because it irritated her), but in actuality, he was incredibly attuned to her.

A few more minutes passed, and another contraction seized Sakura's belly.

"They're getting closer," Sakura whispered between clenched teeth. "Go get Tsunade."

"In a minute," Sasuke whispered back.

Another contraction; Sasuke winced when he felt the bones of his hand pop, a couple of them snapping.

"You're... _hovering_ again," she bit out. Sasuke immediately straightened and dropped her hand. With an annoyed snort, he walked towards the door.

"Uchiha do _not_ hover." Usually, he'd be able to maintain his pride, but not this time. Giving way to his worry, he returned to her bedside, he gave her a quick peck on the forehead and told her he'd be right back with Tsunade.

She smiled at him, "Good, because we're about to have a baby."

With an uncharacteristic grin, Sasuke left the room. Naruto guffawed. "You guys are just too cute!" He grinned down at her. "I'm proud of you," he said, not even wincing when she grabbed his hand during another contraction. Kakashi grinned affectionately at his students-turned-teammates – all grown up and having kids of their own.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was wandering the halls of the hospital, nearly desperate in his search for Tsunade. He tried to be intimidating and stiff, but he couldn't find Tsunade, his baby was almost born, and his hand _hurt_. He was starting to panic. Before long, he found himself in the maternity ward again, having made a full circuit of the hospital. Where in the hell was Tsunade, anyway? Wasn't she in charge of the hospital? Shouldn't she be here?

As he neared Sakura's room, he was astounded to find most of their friends and colleagues congesting the hallway (the rest, unfortunately, being deployed on a mission). "Have you seen Tsunade?" he barked, startling everyone.

"Sasuke," Ino shrieked. "Why the hell are you out here? Tsunade arrived several minutes ago! Get in there."

Shuffling past his comrades, muttering a slurry of swear words and death threats – making those closest to him shuffle out of the way – Sasuke pushed his way into Sakura's room.

He was just in time to take a bed pan _(unused)_ to the face.

"Sakura!" Naruto gasped, astounded. "That's Sasuke!"

"I know that," she snarled. "This is all his fault!" Evidently, Tsunade had told her to start pushing and Sakura was not at all happy about it.

"Everyone shut up," Tsunade barked. "Naruto, Sasuke's back now, you can go." As Sasuke walked towards the bed, Tsunade noticed that one of his hands was red and quite swollen. She cast an amused glance at Sakura, who seemed to shrug, and quickly healed the broken appendage.

"But...but," he sputtered as Kakashi dragged him out of the room. "That's my godchild! Why can't I be -" A pillow sailed past his head with alarming speed. Bad luck for Sasuke that he'd arrived in time for Sakura to throw the only hard thing within her reach.

Kakashi just grinned. "We'll just wait outside."

Bearing down in pain, Sakura grunted against the pain (a kunai to the liver? No problem. Childbirth? #%$*&^%!) Beside her, Sasuke absently wiped the sweat from her forehead. His attention was so focused on Tsunade at that point that he didn't even register all the things Sakura was yelling at him. Every once in awhile, Tsunade would arch an eyebrow, as though she were surprised by Sakura's vocabulary – but really, who'd she learn it from? Out in the hallway, various shrieks and nasty words would penetrate the walls, causing the group to cringe in sympathy.

Eventually, all was quiet. The hallway group held their breath, waiting for someone to come tell them the good news. When Naruto couldn't stand waiting anymore (really, he lasted longer than most people thought – or were betting) and rushed into the room. Asuma handed Kakashi a wad of cash.

Barely into the room, Naruto came to an abrupt stop. Standing before him, bathed in a halo of crappy hospital lighting, were his most precious people in the entire world, smiling down into a bundle wrapped in pink. Tsunade stood off to the side, smiling fondly at the young girl she'd come to think of as a daughter, and that ass she'd married.

"A girl," Naruto whispered, before repeating it in a shout. Outside, Ino could be heard cheering.

His excited shout caused the tiny baby to squeal in distress, earning him a fierce glare from everyone. He cringed, "Sorry." He craned his neck forward, "Can I see her?" he whispered

Just that quickly, Sakura lost her glare and sent him a blinding smile. "Of course." Naruto crept forward and looked over Sasuke's shoulder, smiling down in wonder at the tiny person held in Sasuke's arms.

"Can I hold her?"

"No." Sasuke's denial was abrupt and firm.

Naruto looked like he was going to cry. "Sasuke," Sakura chided gently. With a huff, Sasuke pointed Naruto to a chair, and, when he was sure his friend wasn't going to drop his daughter, he gently placed her in Naruto's arms. He grinned down at her, noting her tiny nose, her tiny fists... her pink hair.

Realizing Sakura would want to rest soon, Tsunade allowed everyone else in to say a quick and quiet hello. The girls squealed (quietly) and hugged Sakura. Ino even went so far as to hug Sasuke; everyone was surprised when he returned the hug. He quickly remembered himself and dropped his arms. After congratulatory pats were given to Sasuke and various balloons given to Sakura, Tsunade ushered everyone out, leaving behind the new parents with their new baby.

"What should we name her," Sakura asked.

"Mikoto," Sasuke murmured, never taking his dark (and _misty_) eyes off his daughter. 'Oh, my God, I have a daughter.' The thought kept running through his head, over and over again.

Sakura smiled. "Mikoto it is."

Sasuke finally looked at her. He bent to kiss her gently, taking care not to disturb the newly christened Mikoto. "Thank you for my daughter."

They shared a smile. "Ditto."

Two weeks later...

Having put Mikoto down for a nap and cleaned the house, Sakura went in search of Sasuke. They didn't have a lot of time when the baby was quiet, and she really wanted some adult conversation, and maybe to be cuddled a little bit.

Wandering through the house, she couldn't find him and decided that maybe he'd gone training with Naruto. He never told her anything whenever he went anyway, so it was likely. Deciding she had nothing better to do than watch her daughter sleep, she crept into the nursery, stopping abruptly when she saw Sasuke standing next to the crib, staring down at their daughter.

He was so intent on Mikoto that he didn't even notice Sakura; she continued watching him for a few moments. Every time the baby would make any sort of noise, Sasuke would stiffen, as if he were prepared to jump into action at the drop of a hat. Dirty diaper? He had it covered, baby powder, wipes and clean diaper at the ready. Hungry? He had a bottle _right there_. Just flat out pissed? He was totally ready to hold her and rock her.

Sakura smiled fondly. She totally loved that she was the only one he allowed to see this extremely adorable and soft side. Whenever visitors were around, he was apathetic and silent as usual, but Sakura (and most everyone else who glanced at him) would see his eyes soften as he looked at his daughter. If he was the one holding her when people came over to visit, he simply acted as if they weren't there, as though the world consisted of only him and Mikoto.

Creeping up behind him, she poked him on the shoulder. He turned his head to gaze at her and grunted. She'd been hoping to startle him, but just because they'd had a baby didn't mean his ninja senses had dwindled anyway; he'd been fully aware of her the entire time she'd been standing there smiling like a fool.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"You're hovering."

He stiffened.

"I am _not._"

**A/N: This is a short _just because_ story. Just because I have homework to do, so I did this instead. I'm aware of, and apologize for, any holes in the story, and anything that just doesn't make much sense. It was a spur of the moment, sit here and not do homework sort of things. **


End file.
